Foul smelling waste water discharge at new estate

SANITARY products and litter were found near a storm discharge point on a housing estate in Henley on Monday.

A dog walker spotted the sewage while out near Highlands Park estate, off Greys Road. About 10m away from Oat Close, is a storm point that discharges.

In the low-lying foul-smelling water there were disused sanitary towels, tampons, food wrappers and what looks to be faeces. Miriam Luke, 60, a former Olympic rower who lives in Chiltern Close, was walking her eight-month golden Labrador puppy, Koda, for the first time when she saw the discretions.

She said: “I was walking along there, and I thought, ‘It’s a bit smelly.’ Then, I saw black and grey water coming out of the overflow. It was running for about 75m, so it’s quite a big deal. My dog ran into it and then he started drinking it and ran up and down. He was black and I had to wash him three times to get the smell out. It looked like there were a couple of tampons in it too.”

Mrs Luke said it seemed like the issue had been going on for a while but was surprised to see sewage in the new development. “The developers have turned it into a really nice area for people to walk their dogs, but this is horrible.” Alex Ford, 38, who works in software sales and lives in Highlands Park, said the smell is worse during the summer months.

He said: “It’s particularly bad in the hot weather, but it has a tendency to smell quite bad anyway.”

Developer Crest Nicholson said it sent engineers to the estate to investigate on Tuesday. A spokeswoman said: “We are aware of the drainage issue at Highlands Park and have identified the cause as an incorrectly connected foul drain from a neighbouring site not developed by Crest Nicholson. We understand the concerns of the local community and are actively working to resolve the situation. Contractors are on-site to clean the spillage and implement the necessary corrections.”